Article 77 of the Fiscal Penal Code – the distinction between financial difficulties and a fiscal offence

Article 77 of the Polish Fiscal Penal Code governs situations in which a taxpayer or a tax collector fails to pay the tax collected into the account of the competent tax authority by the due date.

The liable person is the individual who in fact manages the entity’s economic matters, particularly finance, even based on an agreement or de facto assignment. Liability requires social harmfulness and fault at the time of the act.

Upon conviction, the court may impose a ban on conducting specified business activity for, inter alia, an offence under Article 77 § 1. Company insolvency does not automatically exclude liability, because the assessment turns on culpability and due diligence.

Full article is available in Polish here.